Message from the Roundtable Staff | |
|
Happy New Year!
Here at the Roundtable, we are entering 2024 full of hope, enthusiasm, and energy as we begin another year of collaborating with the state’s public leaders, advocates, and business leaders to improve the state’s competitiveness and long-term economic vitality. We know the challenges and we head into the new year focused on solutions.
We know employers are having difficulty finding talent, and we are focused on leveraging untapped talent sources as a strategy to meet that demand. We know the cost of housing is at crisis levels, and the state’s public and private leaders are aligned in our collective urgency to address it. We know there are economic headwinds, but we also know that Massachusetts continues to have competitive advantages in our people, our ecosystem, and our world-leading industry clusters, and we have a new economic development plan to guide the way. Solutions are at hand, big ideas are being proposed, and there is a collective will to make change. We are excited for 2024!
The members of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable continue to be engaged, thoughtful participants in both developing and implementing solutions. The Roundtable will continue to provide a platform for those ideas to be generated, for business leaders to connect, and for dialogue with public leaders to both address the most pressing issues we face and identify the solutions that will shape the state’s future.
Thank you to the Roundtable members for a successful and productive 2023 and for your continued engagement as we look ahead to the new year!
Best,
JD, Tonja, Rebecca, and Lauren
| |
Roundtable Welcomes New Director of Operations
We are excited to introduce you to the Roundtable’s new Director of Operations, Lauren Nwagboli! Lauren started earlier this week and we are thrilled to have her on board.
Lauren joins the Roundtable with over five years of professional experience shaping and growing startup ventures and managing both operations and social media. As Director of Operations, Lauren will manage administrative operations, membership resources, and events, while also working with the President & CEO and the Executive Vice President to support the Roundtable’s public policy agenda and priorities. Prior to joining the Roundtable, Lauren served as Deputy Director of the Workforce Solutions Group, where she managed all day-to-day operations, stakeholder engagement, and helped to plan, lead, and execute the Workforce Solutions Group’s premier annual workforce summit that attracts over 200 attendees.
Read our press release with additional details released earlier this week. Please join us in welcoming Lauren to the team! She can be reached at lnwagboli@maroundtable.com.
|
| |
|
The Roundtable recently released its 2023 End of Year Policy Roundup, promoting the progress on our public policy priorities and other key initiatives in 2023. Key highlights include:
- Two research reports focused on untapped talent;
- Engagement on multiple commissions and coalitions;
- Meetings with more than twelve policymakers;
- Fifteen pieces of testimony submitted;
- And much more!
While we are excited for 2024, we can’t help but look back at the highlights of 2023 and all that we accomplished together. Read our 2023 End of Year Policy Roundup.
| |
Board of Directors Meeting
Quarterly Meeting of the Board of Directors
| |
Roundtable meets with Steve Koczela and Kristen Silverberg
On December 7, the Roundtable held its final board meeting in 2023. The meeting agenda included some administrative business; a discussion with two guest speakers, namely Steve Koczela, President of the MassINC Polling Group, and Kristen Silverberg, President & COO of the national Business Roundtable; and a pulse poll to guide the Roundtable’s work in 2024. The feedback from the pulse poll suggests that most members expect the economy to grow and plan to hire in the future; high-interest rates are the biggest economic concern; housing costs and transportation are the two major policy issues of concern.
| |
Welcome to the Roundtable
Please join us in welcoming new members who joined the Roundtable this past quarter!
| |
|
Tom McCourt
CEO
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals
| |
|
John McLaughlin
President
Sullivan & McLaughlin Companies
| |
|
Sheryl McQuade
New England Regional President
TD Bank
| |
Open Forum Recaps
NOVEMBER OPEN FORUM
The November Open Forum brought together members for a discussion on the state’s competitiveness. We were honored to be joined by Senator Barry Finegold and Representative Jerry Parisella, Chairs of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. The discussion highlighted the fact that the state’s competitiveness is at risk due to several factors such as outmigration; high costs and shortages of housing; inefficiencies with the transportation system; and a decline in the younger generation of employees who can replace the older generation of employees. Member discussions emphasized the need to address the housing crisis since that is key to retaining and attracting talent; bolstering apprenticeship programs; considering the needs of gateway cities; the connection between economic development and workforce development and housing and transportation; and doubling down on the areas where Massachusetts is already winning.
DECEMBER OPEN FORUM
The focus of the December Open Forum was the discussion of the Roundtable’s newly published report, co-authored with the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF), titled “Equitably Addressing the Workforce Crisis in Massachusetts: How to Capitalize on Minority Serving Institutions.” We were delighted to have Doug Howgate, President of MTF leading this important and timely discussion. The discussion highlighted the fact that Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are a key pipeline for addressing ongoing workforce challenges in Massachusetts and increasing the representation of people of color in the workforce. Also discussed were the challenges faced by MSIs such as limited federal and state opportunities, as well as inadequate opportunities to connect with employers. Recommendations stemming from the report emphasize the need for more state support, increased opportunities to connect with employers, and a Massachusetts-specific MSI designation.
|
| |
Going Around the Table
Sharing a few highlights from member companies!
| |
|
Berkshire Health Systems Named 2023 Employer of the Year: The Workforce Solutions Group (WSG) named Roundtable member organization Berkshire Health Systems as the 2023 Employer of the Year at the 14th Annual Massachusetts Jobs & Workforce Summit held at Devens in October 2023. Berkshire Health Systems was recognized for its efforts to creatively address workforce shortages by partnering to create “learn and earn” training models, addressing food insecurity in the region, working to reopen North Adams Hospital, and partnering with MCLA and BCC on innovative workforce strategies. Congratulations to Roundtable member Darlene Rodowicz and her team!
The Roundtable joined WSG to host the 14th annual summit, which attracted over 200 registered attendees. A series of sessions throughout the summit covered topics of interest often expressed by members—from the priorities of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Workforce Skills Cabinet, to developing youth pipelines, AI and future of work, tapping new talent, and supporting immigrants in the workforce. We were also honored to be joined by the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Lauren Jones and Lieutenant Governor, Kim Driscoll. A special thank you to panelists including Roundtable member Liz Schwab of Google, Roundtable Chair Lisa Murray of Citizens, and Venky Venkatachalam from Roundtable member organization UMass Boston. Thank you also to Roundtable members who sponsored the 14th Annual Summit including Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, Citizens, Eastern Bank, Google, and Verizon.
| |
|
MA Apprenticeship Network CEO Roundtable: In November, the Roundtable and some of our members participated in an apprenticeship roundtable with Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones, Accenture, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce in celebration of National Apprenticeship Week. The Roundtable, as one of the founding members of the MA Apprenticeship Network, views the apprenticeship model as one way to reach untapped talent and build diverse talent pipelines. Members of the MA Apprenticeship Network can build connections with other employers, promote effective apprenticeship models, and access best practices and talent sources. If your organization would like to learn more about apprenticeship and how this model might be a good fit for your organization, reach out to Roundtable EVP Tonja Mettlach anytime.
| |
|
Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report: The Roundtable was honored to partner with member organization Bentley University for a business leaders conversation around Bentley’s recent Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report, which includes the results of survey questions aimed at uncovering whether Americans think business has a positive impact on society. Visit the Roundtable’s website to read a guest blog by Helen Henrichs, Director of News and Public Relations, Bentley University, recapping the conversation. Read a blog post about the report.
| |
|
New Balance Institute for Innovative Leadership in Sport: This fall, Roundtable members Joe Preston, President & CEO of New Balance, and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, Chancellor of UMass Boston, joined to celebrate the establishment of the New Balance Institute for Innovative Leadership in Sport. This new commitment and institute builds on the New Balance Sport Leadership and Administration (SLA) program that was founded at UMass Boston in 2018. Since the SLA program opened in fall 2019, it has grown to 127 students this year majoring in sport leadership and administration, with another 34 students having already graduated. SLA students have already participated in a combined 10,000 hours of internships in the sports industry, including at New Balance and many of the great sports industry teams in Massachusetts. Read more about this partnership.
| |
Expanding the Table
Roundtable member companies promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace
| |
|
Roundtable Receives English Works Business Leadership Award: In October, the Roundtable was honored to attend the 10th Annual Raising our Voices Breakfast with English for New Bostonians, where we received their annual Business Leadership Award for our work advocating for immigrants as an essential part of the state’s short- and long-term workforce strategy. At the event, JD Chesloff accepted the award on behalf of the Roundtable and joined a panel discussion which featured findings and recommendations from the Roundtable’s new report on foreign-educated immigrants.
| |
|
The Partnership Leadership Programs: Registration for The Partnership’s renowned leadership development programs for early and mid-career professionals of color is now open through February 2. Programs are designed to accelerate professional growth, expand leadership skills, and support the advancement of professionals of color at each stage of their careers. Programs for the Class of 2024 begin in February. Please contact Claire Cooper at ccooper@thepartnershipinc.org to learn more about opportunities for companies to invest in rising professionals of color, or visit thepartnershipinc.org/programs.
| |
Upcoming Events in January
Leveraging Higher Education to Diversify the MA Workforce:
On January 16 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 428 at the State House, please join the Roundtable, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF), and members of the Legislature for a presentation hosted by the Joint Committee on Higher Education. At this event, attendees will learn about a recent Roundtable and MTF report, "Equitably Addressing the Workforce Crisis in MA: How to Capitalize on Minority Serving Institutions," and how Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) could play a role in improving the state’s workforce pipeline.
|
| |
|
The Myth That Made Us with Jeff Fuhrer
On January 16 at 5:30 p.m., join the Roundtable, Eastern Bank, Conexion, and The Hollister Group for a conversation with author Jeff Fuhrer exploring the correlation between prevalent yet inaccurate narratives about poverty and race and the unfavorable outcomes experienced by many in the U.S. economy. Jeff is the author of the book “The Myth That Made Us,” and is a Brookings Institute and Eastern Bank Foundation fellow. Click here to register and learn more.
|
| |
|
In partnership with the Latino Corporate Directors Association and Latino Leaders, the Roundtable is excited to share a "Save The Date" for you and your network to join for a convening of C-Suite Executives and Board of Directors on January 25 at 12:00 p.m. in Boston. The Forum will feature a panel of distinguished speakers, including experienced board members, diversity and inclusion experts, and business leaders who will share insights into governance and board leadership. More details to follow. To RSVP or request more information, reach out to isabela@latinoleaders.com.
|
| | | | |
